Article Sidebar

Trending

Article content

Authorities should drastically reduce incarcerated populations to avoid a “catastrophic” COVID-19 outbreak in a prison or jail, two Alberta defence lawyers’ associations said Tuesday

In a letters sent Monday, the Criminal Trial Lawyers’ Association (CTLA) and the Alberta Prison Justice Society (APJS) urged provincial and federal officials to release people detained for non-violent offences, inmates who are “medically vulnerable” and those with less than 90 days remaining on their sentences.

Doing so would reduce the likelihood of a COVID-19 outbreak in a crowded correctional facility, which could spread quickly and overwhelm health care resources in the community, CTLA president Jordan Stuffco said.

“When COVID-19 enters the correctional system (not if, but when) it will be catastrophic for both prisoners and staff, and ultimately also outside of the correctional system to the public at large,” Stuffco said in the letter.

Advertisement

Story continues below

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

Article content continued

At last count, there were around 3,700 inmates in the Alberta correctional system. The majority are pretrial inmates who haven’t been convicted of their crimes, housed in huge facilities like the Edmonton Remand Centre, where stays range from a few days to multiple years.

So far, there have been no confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Alberta’s corrections facilities.

Advertisement

Story continues below

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

Article content continued

Alberta Justice says it has ramped up screening and prevention measures in response to COVID-19. Perhaps most significantly, offenders serving a jail sentence on weekends have been ordered to instead spend their time on house arrest to minimize comings and goings from correctional facilities.

A cell at the Edmonton Remand Centre. //Postmedia

Inside, corrections officials have staggered out-of-cell time to prevent large groups in common areas. In some cases, that means inmates are confined for longer periods in their cells, which are often shared.

In a statement, justice ministry spokeswoman Katherine Thompson said hand sanitizer is available to inmates in the admissions and discharge areas, in addition to soap and water in the holding cell.

Advertisement

Story continues below

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

Article content continued

Once inmates are admitted to a unit — following a coronavirus screening — they have access to soap and water and “are being encouraged to be extra vigilant with hand washing,” Thompson said. Inmates showing cold or flu symptoms are given masks and gloves, followed by a cursory medical exam. Depending on their answers, they could be isolated in the infirmary unit for testing.

Staff including correctional officers, meanwhile, “are informed, screened and monitored as per advisements from the Public Service Commission and the Chief Medical Officer of Health,” said Thompson.

Advertisement

Story continues below

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

Article content continued

Still, inmates and their loved ones are nervous. Chantel Gillard, whose boyfriend is in remand, said she’s worried about the illness finding its way into jails. Her boyfriend suffers from asthma, putting him at higher risk for serious complications.

“The guards, they come and go, right? Who’s to say they’re not going to bring it in there?” she said. “And as if they have enough care to treat everybody in there that gets sick, if they get sick.”

Amanda Hart-Dowhun, president of the APJS, said inmates can’t physically distance themselves from others as health officials are recommending.

“Once COVID’s in there, there’s a good chance that most if not all of the prisoners in the institution will catch it,” she said.

Advertisement

Story continues below

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

Article content continued

Hart-Dowhun said it’s feasible to release non-violent inmates for monitoring in the community. “It would certainly take additional effort,” she said. “But we do already have systems … to keep constant track of prisoners, how they’re doing, how they’re progressing and what sort of danger they pose to society.”

Tom Stamatakis, a Vancouver police constable and president of the Canadian Police Association, said a mass “decarceration” would come with a host of issues.

He said at it stands, the Canadian justice system typically tries to avoid incarcerating non-violent people in the first place. “If you’re going to start releasing people who are incarcerated, presumably there’s a reason why they’re being incarcerated,” he said.

Stamatakis added that police are already operating at or beyond capacity, and questioned whether parole and community corrections services would be able to monitor inmates with reduced staffing during a pandemic.

Trending

Related Stories

This Week in Flyers

Article Comments

Comments

Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion and encourage all readers to share their views on our articles. Comments may take up to an hour for moderation before appearing on the site. We ask you to keep your comments relevant and respectful. We have enabled email notifications—you will now receive an email if you receive a reply to your comment, there is an update to a comment thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information and details on how to adjust your email settings.

Notice for the Postmedia Network

This website uses cookies to personalize your content (including ads), and allows us to analyze our traffic. Read more about cookies here. By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.